The front door of the house was half open and Bob charged through. The interior was dusty and unkempt, although there were some signs that an effort had been made to live in two of the front rooms. Lieutenant Gibbons pounded up the front steps and burst into the hallway. He joined Bob and together they resumed the frantic search of the house. The first floor was combed, room for room and closet by closet, and it was not until they reached a shed at the back of the house that they found what they were seeking. There, laying on a roll of dirty bedding, was Merritt Hughes, bound, gagged and with a red welt along one side of his head. Bob, a cry of joy at finding his uncle on his lips, bent down to untie the gag while Lieutenant Gibbons slashed at the rope which fastened the federal agent’s wrists and ankles. Together they helped Merritt Hughes to his feet. His tongue was badly swollen from the gag, but he managed to say a few words. “Did they get away?” he asked slowly. “Yes, but I don’t think they’ll get far. Agents are on their way from Baltimore and Washington,” said Bob. “How about their radio?” “The Department of Commerce heard them come on the air and gummed up their broadcasts,” replied Bob. Lieutenant Gibbons, who had gone in search of water, returned with a tin cup and Merritt Hughes drank it with relish, taking slow, deep draughts of the refreshing liquid. Then he bathed his face and hands and felt much refreshed. He looked quizzically at Bob and the lieutenant. “You fellows may catch pneumonia running around here in wet clothes,” he warned. “What happened to your head?” demanded the lieutenant. “They creased me with a bullet during the scrap back in Washington last night,” replied the federal agent grimly. “I want you to see their radio.” He led them to the top floor of the old house where one room had been fitted up for broadcasting purposes. Bob knew little about radio, but he could tell that a great deal of money had been expended here. “Where’s the aerial?” he asked. “They used an underground antennae,” replied his uncle. Lieutenant Gibbons picked up a heavy chair which was in the room and deliberately smashed the delicate equipment. “I guess that’s the end of this station.” “But we haven’t recovered the radio document,” groaned Bob. “I rather think we have,” replied the lieutenant, pointing from a window to a cavalcade of cars which was approaching through a clearing. Chapter XXXII “FEDERAL AGENT” ★ The scene that night in the office of the chief of the bureau of investigation was one that would remain stamped forever in Bob’s memory. Waldo Edgar was there. So was Bob’s uncle and on the other side of the room were Tully Ross and Condon Adams and in the background Lieutenant Gibbons chuckled occasionally.